Modeling,Analysis, and Simulation of Biofilm Formation and Decay

In this article, we give a brief overview of our recent work on continuum mechanical modelling and simulation of microbial films. This comprises some classical tasks of applied mathematics such as computational fluid dynamics, analysis of partial differential equations, and mathematical biology.     

Subsampling effects in neuronal avalanche distributions recorded in vivo

Background  

Many systems in nature are characterized by complex behaviour where large cascades of events, or avalanches, unpredictably alternate with periods of little activity. Snow avalanches are an example. Often the size distribution f(s) of a system's avalanches follows a power law, and the branching parameter sigma, the average number of events triggered by a single preceding event, is unity. A power law for f(s), and sigma = 1, are hallmark features of self-organized critical (SOC) systems, and both have been found for neuronal activity in vitro. Therefore, and since SOC systems and neuronal activity both show large variability, long-term stability and memory capabilities, SOC has been proposed to govern neuronal dynamics in vivo. Testing this hypothesis is difficult because neuronal activity is spatially or temporally subsampled, while theories of SOC systems assume full sampling. To close this gap, we investigated how subsampling affects f(s) and sigma by imposing subsampling on three different SOC models. We then compared f(s) and sigma of the subsampled models with those of multielectrode local field potential (LFP) activity recorded in three macaque monkeys performing a short term memory task.     

Über einen zusammenhang zwischen gewissen linearen differential- und differenzengleichungen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Physicochemical characterization of the endotoxins from Coxiella burnetii strain Priscilla in relation to their bioactivities

Background  

Coxiella burnetiiis the etiological agent of Q fever found worldwide. The microorganism has like other Gram-negative bacteria a lipopolysaccharide (LPS, endotoxin) in its outer membrane, which is important for the pathogenicity of the bacteria. In order to understand the biological activity of LPS, a detailed physico-chemical analysis of LPS is of utmost importace.     

Determination of microtraces of Bi, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, In, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn in phosphoric acid and ammonium phosphate

Summary Methods for the determination of Bi, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, In, Ni, Pb, Sb and Zn in phosphoric acid by ETA-AAS using the platform technique were developed. The detection limits are in the range of 1 to 30 ppb for conc. H₃PO₄. Relative standard deviations of 5–10% at 10 times the detection limits were achieved. The results obtained by five different atomic spectroscopic methods are in good agreement (direct Zeeman-ETA-AAS, D₂-ETA-AAS and FAAS; OES and FAAS after trace extraction).